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Review

Batshit Mental Ideas Negroni Aged Bathtub Gin

Distillery

Website

History

ATOM Supplies Ltd. trading as Master of
Malt, is one of the UK’s leading online liquor retailers. Established in 1985
they originally concentrated on Whisky but this soon grew to encompass a full range
of spirits. Since the 2010’s they have undertaken joint projects to produce
individual spirits, supported primarily by Ben Ellefsen, their Sales Director.
Under his guidance, the success of Master of Malt own offerings have expanded
to include a range of “Origin” Gins and the “Professor Cornelius Ampleforth”
range of spirits.

“Batshit Mental Ideas” is a third range of
spirits and described by MoM as “straight
from the brain of a crazy person”. The thought behind this is:
while they may seem mental ideas today, who knows what we may think tomorrow!
This Negroni-Aged Gin was launched in the summer of 2013.

Production

This uses the original Bathtub Gin (from
the “Professor Cornelius Ampleforth” range of spirits) as the base for this
variation. It is made from a high quality copper pot distillation to which the
botanicals are added and left to infuse for around 24 hours. Normally, most
Gins would be distilled another time following the infusion period. However
this Gin is simply filtered and bottled straight from this cold compounding
method, and is produced in small batches of 30 to 60 bottles at a time. This
distillate is then aged for 3 months in small casks previously used to age
Negroni cocktails.

This gold colored spirit is presented in a small
clear bottle with rounded shoulders and a black wax cap. It has a large
light-brown colored rectangular label with black colored hand-drawn images and
text (in hand-written, typed and printed formats).

Category

Barrel Aged Gin.

Alcohol By Volume (ABV)

43.3% (87 Proof).

Price Range

$$$$$$. Only available from Master of Malt
in the UK and be prepared to add a further 40% for shipping if outside of the
UK.

Botanicals

Made from the same 6 botanicals as their
Bathtub Gin including: cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, juniper berries
and orange peel.

Name

Named after the range of spirits and the production
method used to age the Gin.

Tasting Notes

Unfortunately we have yet
to try this, but according to MoM it has all the attributes of spicy herbal Gin
plus Sweet Vermouth and Campari from the cask aging, making a smooth, creamy
and bittersweet offering. David T Smith has a good review of this Gin across at
his website Summer Fruit Cup.